Can a Knight Goby live in freshwater?

Hi,

Just picked up a Knight Goby from my LFS yesterday. The guys there said that it would be fine in a freshwater tank. However, upon doing more research at home, it seems that Knight Gobys thrive in brackish water. I am wondering if I can keep my tank as is (freshwater) or should I look into making it a more brackish environment?

I currently have a 29gal tank with:

1 knight goby
1 gold gourami
3 tiger barbs
1 leopard bush fish
1 pictus catfish

Research says a SG of 1.003 is sufficient for Knight Gobys. Will the rest of my fish tolerate these settings? I also have some live plants. How would I go about getting my water to a SG of 1.003 gradually?

Please help! Thanks

 

Knight Gobies are mainly brackish fish, if you improve the salinity gradually, then it should be able to sustain the goby.

 

I wouldn't go brackish with your current stock. I've never owned a knight goby but I've read they do pretty well in fresh water if you've got hard water.

 

I called my LFS and they said to just throw a little bit of salt in there. But just a little so it's not a true brackish tank. I think they said 1 tablespoon per 10 gallons? Does anyone have any experience with adding salt to a fresh water tank? I've read mixed reviews on this.

 

I called my LFS and they said to just throw a little bit of salt in there. But just a little so it's not a true brackish tank. I think they said 1 tablespoon per 10 gallons? Does anyone have any experience with adding salt to a fresh water tank? I've read mixed reviews on this.

I have a lionfish (freshwater toad fish) & puffer tank. It's not fully brackish but does have some salt in it. You just have to keep checking the salinity & slowly (& I MEAN SLOWLY) add salt. To much & it's just as potent as pouring in ice cold water. It could shock them.

 

The current stock of that tank should not be exposed to marine salt! The pictus won't take kindly to it. I think you guys are ignoring the fish that are already in the tank....

 

I agree with what GgAcE said about raising the salinity slowly, but I agree more with Heros severus. Pictus are very sensitive when it comes to salt and I would not try adding salt with the pictus in the tank. If the pictus was gone, then I believe that the other fish would be able to handle it.

 

I called my LFS and they said to just throw a little bit of salt in there.

Did they recommend that knowing you have a pictus catfish in the tank? If not, did they responsibly caution you not to use it if you have salt sensitive fish in the tank?

 

Sounds like typical salesperson's advice.
It is good that you did further research and came here. A very important tip that almost everybody here will tell you is: Do NOT take advice from the people at the store. They only want to sell. They sold you a fish that is not compatible with the set up you have and gave you bad advice regarding the rest of your fish, knowing that you would be a flood of money. That is how it works.
Best advice at this point is either return the Knight Goby, or develop MTS and get a new tank to set up a brackish home for him.

 

Knight gobies need brackish and have short lifespans in freshwater. The same can be said of your pictus cat in reverse.
Unfortunately, you should return the knight goby to the pet store, where they will sell him to someone else to kill.
If you were near Northern VA, I would pick him up.